On Monday, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office formally charged Dr. Conrad Murray with one count of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Michael Jackson. Murray, 56, the former personal physician to Jackson and the last person to see Jackson alive, could serve up to four years in prison if convicted. Update: Murray entered at the L.A. courthouse (without handcuffs) around 1 p.m.. Members of the Jackson family — including mother Katherine and siblings La Toya, Jermaine and Jackie — also arrived to attend Murray’s arraignment.
In the charge filed at an L.A. Superior Court, the D.A. alleges that Murray “did unlawfully and without malice kill Michael Joseph Jackson…in the commission of an unlawful act not amounting to a felony and in the commission of a lawful act which might have produced death, in an unlawful manner and without due caution and circumspection.”
Jackson died in his L.A. mansion on June 25, 2009 at age 50; he suffered cardiac arrest as a result of lethal amounts of propofol administered by Murray. Propofol is a powerful anesthetic usually only used in hospitals and other medical settings. Murray admitted to giving Jackson (who suffered from insomnia) the potent drug, but has previously denied any culpability in the pop star’s death. “Please don’t worry,” he told supporters in a YouTube message this past August. “I will be fine. I have done all I could do. I told the truth.”
But Brian Oxman, a lawyer for the Jackson family, said on CBS’ The Early Show last Wednesday that Murray deserves a “second-degree murder charge…I think the family will be very, very upset.”
Although many have speculated that Murray had planned to surrender himself to authorities, his attorneys have not yet replied to the D.A.’s charges. His arraignment is scheduled for later Monday afternoon.
I’ve got a laundry list of stuff to be thankful for.
• I’m thankful, first and foremost, for my family and friends. My good friends — and yes, I do have some of them — the real ones who are there through it all, even when stuff goes bad.
• I’m obviously very, very thankful for the UFC and for guys like Chuck Liddell, Matt Hughes, Forrest Griffin, guys who have been real partners to us and who have really helped us build this business.
• I’m thankful for Bruce Lee. I’ve said it a million times: He’s the father of mixed martial arts. He was so far ahead of his time.
• I’m very thankful for technology. It’s funny to think that when we started the UFC, the only way we could distribute was through three pay-per-view outlets. Now, we’ve got streaming on the Internet, video blogs and everything else.
• I’m thankful for Twitter, which took me awhile to warm up to at first but now I have a blast and it’s one of my favorite ways to connect with the fans of the sport.
• I’m thankful for Pinkberry. I love Pinkberry! I’m like addicted to it. I’m very thankful for my favorite: a large original with Fruity Pebbles. So good, I get really excited about Pinkberry.
• I’m thankful for food, in general. I’m not thankful for how much I love to eat, though. You go out and buy all these nice suits and then you gotta try to stay in ‘em. I’m thankful for my suit pants — they’re the referee in trying to keep my weight down. That’s my thing, I don’t ever change my waist size. I keep it the same, and if they start to get tight, then I have to lose weight.
• Caffeine and coffee — none of that makes my list. I don’t touch any of it. Never. No thanks. Listen to me, do you think I need it? I hate it. I’d be a lunatic if I had caffeine.
• Shaving your head is no fun endeavor, let me tell you. It has taken a lot of trial and error, but there’s something I’m very thankful for, sweetheart — the Venus razor. You know the chick razor with the gooey stuff on the side? Yeah, that’s what I shave my head with, it’s true. Funny, right? I’d look like a nicked-up freak without that thing.
• I’m thankful for Canada. Those fans up there are awesome. If the United States MMA market was like the Canadian market, the UFC would be even bigger than it is now.
• I’m thankful for the day and age that I can wear a T-shirt to a big meeting.
• I will occasionally go out and drink. I told you I’m thankful for my buddies, but I’m not thankful for what they do to me. One of my buddies I grew up with, my old roommate from Boston, Donny, came out here to Vegas this week. I haven’t seen him in years so we have been going hard every night, nonstop. I’m very thankful that he’s going home and I hope I don’t see him for another 10 years!
• It sounds funny saying this but I’m really thankful that I got to experience so many places and meet all kinds of people in different cultures. Boston was really different from Vegas. And Las Vegas is really different than Levant, Maine. I’m thankful I had the chance to live the difference.
• I’m thankful for Las Vegas. I honestly and truly think it’s the greatest city on Earth. It is for me and guys like me, anyway. I go a million miles an hour no matter what and this is the city built for that. It’s always open. There’s always excitement and energy and something to do. That’s me. That’s who I am and that’s the life I live. I’m very thankful for this city that never disappoints.
• I’m thankful for the jet. That makes travel a little easier.
• I’m thankful for the passionate, psychotic lunatics who are the fans of the UFC. Not only will they come and blast me when they think something’s wrong, they also travel all over the place, buy the events, stand by the sport, and I’m very thankful for their energy and support.
• I love this life. I have so much to be thankful for. I’m reminded of that every single day.
Dana White is president of the UFC. He spoke with ESPN columnist Mary Buckheit for this column.
In this month’s latest exclusive Industry Interview feature for THE3XGP.COM, DJ Glew spoke to Brooklyn rapper Fabolous! Earlier this past summer, Faboloso released his fifth studio LP, Loso’s Way – his most compete album to date. DJ Glew talked to Fab about making MTV ’s 2009 Hottest MC’s In The Game list, addressing his recent Twitter comments on 50 Cent, working with Ne-Yo on a joint album and much more! Special shouts go out to Jody ‘Cousin’ Laraya and Kevin Ash at Universal Music Canada.
FABOLOUS: I’m receptive and I definitely feel like it’s a cool thing. I really think a lot of people look at the list and it’s a topic of discussion. There are a lot of mixed reviews about it and talk about some MC’s that shouldn’t make the list and some that should be higher. I look at it in a accepted way that I even made the list in their eyes and it’s cool. But at the same time you may ask somebody else and they may say I deserved to be higher on the list. Before this I wasn’t even on the list and I felt I should’ve been. So I’m accepting of it and thankful of MTV for including me on the list.
DJ GLEW: What has been your favourite Twitter trending topic?
DJ GLEW: Give me an example of the Bow Wow one. Finish this Tweet: #sorrybowwow.
FABOLOUS: #sorrybowwow you can’t retire because your album sold 18,000 records in your first week. Take your brick like a man. That was the first one I put out there with him. [laughs]
Fabolous was ranked MTV’s 8th Hottest MC In The Game for 2009
DJ GLEW: You also have the Yung Berg’s head one. Finish this Tweet: #yungbergshead.
FABOLOUS: Oh ya. Yung Berg. [laughs] Yung Berg’s head is a Hip-Hop pinata, you keep hitting it until the Transformer pops out. [laughs]
DJ GLEW: What is a Twitter funeral? And what other Twitter terms have you invented?
FABOLOUS: A Twitter funeral is when you kill somebody via Twitter and you have to lay their Twitter account to rest. Usually the person doesn’t comply with it but the people know when you choke them so you have them a Twitter funeral. When you say T.I.P. that means Twitter In Peace that’s after you kill somebody and you just want to send your condolences.
DJ GLEW: How do you feel about the way Loso’s Way has been received?
FABOLOUS: I feel it has been received well. A lot of people have looked at it and have sort of broken it and seen me in a different light. I took a concept and gracefully made it work with what I wanted to say. But also made good music and also touched on the topic from “Carlito’s Way“. It got to be the number one record in the country on it’s first week. That was a great thing to me because at first it was leaked two and a half weeks before it was suppose to drop. So I was skeptical and not even sure if people would receive it as well or go out and still go get it because of how easy it was to grab a bootleg of it. It was really anticipated and people wanted to give it a hear. It’s hard when you want to hear something and really sit back and have to wait two weeks for the real one instead of just downloading it.
DJ GLEW: You have said that you want to work with Eminem. What type of song would the two of you record?
FABOLOUS: I have no idea I would actually like him to produce it and lead and then I would just follow. I think Eminem’s topics are a little different than mine in certain senses so I would really like him to come up with the scenario or topic or subject matter that he wants to take it in and I would speak from my lane and he can speak from his lane.
DJ GLEW: On Twitter you said: “Its interesting to c 50 Cent unite wit NY artists when he’s 1 of the reasons NY hip hop became so isolated & crumbled”. Can you further comment on this Tweet?
FABOLOUS: I think that if you were to ask 50 a couple years ago if you were to do a show with those people he would have said no. It was interesting to me. I actually was invited to do the show as well but I had a prior show so I couldn’t make it. He had these hopes up and he had really isolated himself with G-Unit when he first came out. He didn’t mix well with other artists and rappers unless it was Eminem, Dr. Dre, Lloyd Banks, Tony Yayo, and whoever was affiliated with him. He use to offer if you wanted to come be with him then you can come be with him and get money but other than that he wouldn’t rock with you. He hasn’t had many collaborations other than on his songs and this is why I found it interesting and out of no where they put together this show with New York rappers and Hip Hop which is great. But it’s kind of this destroy and rebuild situation.
DJ GLEW: Do you think it’s because of the lack of interest people are showing him now? Do you think he’s trying to do the DJ Khaled and unity thing?
FABOLOUS: I don’t really think he’s trying to do that. I don’t really know what’s going on in 50’s head of why he actually did it. But I put it out there for a topic of discussion and people had different perspectives on it. Some people said it might have been another one of his marketing things or publicity stunts. Other people said maybe he’s growing up and done beefing with certain people. I just put it out there for a topic of discussion and I wasn’t taking shots at him. I think certain people misunderstood in blogs and emails. Blogs will sort of take it and twist it in another way. But what I really did was put it out there like how a talk show would sensationalize or put shock value to it. But it would be something that would have been a conversation in the barbershop. But that’s what Twitter is, it’s like a big humongous barbershop where everyone puts in what they think. So that’s what I did when I woke up this morning and I saw something online about it. It just happened this weekend so I usually just speak about things that are relevant at the time.
DJ GLEW: Who is your favorite R&B artist to collaborate with?
FABOLOUS: Well all-time I would have to say Lil’ Mo. We have such a great chemistry, she’s also a fun person, cool to work with, and down to earth. Recently, me and Ne-Yo work pretty well and he’s also a good guy. There’s also Ryan Leslie because he’s a genius musically. I pretty much like working with a few people so you can have me going on and on but that’s just a rough bunch.
Fabolous ft. Keri Hilson – Everything, Everyday, Everywhere (2009)
DJ GLEW: What songs have you recorded with Ne-Yo for your joint album? And when’s that project coming out?
FABOLOUS: Actually we’re just putting songs together and trying to compliment the music for it. We reached out to Ryan Leslie to tie into like a co-executive producer of the project. We’re trying to put it together but it’s probably not going to come this year maybe like a next year thing. We’re just trying to bring that Hip-Hop and R&B marriage back and people haven’t done it on a biggest scale. Some of the biggest songs or radio songs are generated through the marriage of Hip-Hop and R&B.
DJ GLEW: What was the last thing you threw in the bag?
FABOLOUS: Yesterday I went to Barney’s and did a little shopping because there’s a Hip-Hop awards show (2009 BET Hip-Hop Awards) coming up and also there’s a couple videos to do. I just did a little shopping and kept my eye to what’s out there. I threw it in the bag but not too much. I also bought a Louis Vuitton book bag because I thought it was a cool thing.
DJ GLEW: Do you think over sized and overpriced throwback jerseys will ever make a comeback?
FABOLOUS: [laughs] Over sized not really. Overpriced I don’t know about jerseys. It’s hard for me to see jerseys coming back because it’s past it’s time and era. I looked at some of my jerseys before and tried them on and I couldn’t believe I wore them that big but I never use to pay for them and stuff like that. I think it had it’s time and era but I think it’s over. I don’t know anything that comes out 20 years ago and comes back so soon. I think it might be a little time before you see a jersey on somebodies back.
Fabolous ft. The-Dream – Throw It In The Bag (2009)
Here it is, the much anticipated OFFICIAL trailer for the documentary “This Is It” which chronicles Michael Jackson as he rehearses and prepares for what was destined to become the greatest music concert series of all time.
